The Byers Guardian
by Stuffulkins
Summary: Will's family believes that if they disappear from Hawkins, so will the darkness that has been looming over them for the past five years, yet one fragment of it decides to join them on a quest towards its own light.
1. Chapter 1

"We're finally here. Everything's gonna be so much better—especially after the nightmare."

"Nightmare _ **s**_ , Dad"

"And the really great thing is, I've already talked to the guys and no one knows a thing about what happened, so we can all really have a fresh start out here in Maine."

"I'm still going to miss Johnathan."

"He's in love, and he's happy. That's what's important; just as we are. Don't forget he did say that he is still thinking about it."

Bob and his fiancé held their hands together for a moment. Her son—Will—in an attempt to brighten his thoughts, imagined the best-looking rings he could think of on their fingers. He then looked over at their new house.

("Maybe Dad's right; I could love it here.")

A few days pass as the new family settled in. Will decided to go to the local playground to see if he could make some new friends. Joyce insisted on _tagging_ along, as his father called it, while he stayed home to finalize the school accommodation paper works and call up the local RadioShack for employment. It was the first time they'd seen their son smile in ages.

When the two got home, mother noticed one of the teenagers had followed them home, crouching, and staring at them. He looked slightly above driving age, but his face with a Freddy Kreuger-styled hat, but with a wider rim.

"I've found you."

"What do you want with my boy?"

"Nothing; I'm just following where the dust takes me, and it brought me to you lovely people. That is my job, right?"

"We didn't hire anyone."

"I freely wander the world looking for cracks, then I felt each one of your connections."

"Are you going to keep doing that? We came here to avoid all of this—start a new life."

"No," he said putting the tip of his thumb against his lips, "But if it ever happens again, just know that I'll be watching you—right there to close your problems; that's what I was put here for, right?"

"You just said you wouldn't stalk my boy!"

"It's like I won't even be there."

" _She_ will come save me again, wouldn't she?"

The adolescent flinched; "There are others?" Tears streamed down his unseen face; "I've failed this whole world. How many times? No, don't answer that; it would be too much." He quietly showed them his arm. Embedded on his shoulder was the number "0-1," with an additional "0" before the other one scribbled in with marker. He never stopped crying.

"I like Bond; I look up to him. Now please, go on, turn around; live your merry lives."

They turned their backs and looked at him once more. Just like that, he was gone. They hesitated on whether to tell Bob about the child, but ultimately said over the dinner table that an agent came and brought insurance.

"That's great!"


	2. Chapter 2: Mew

Shortly after Will started going to his new school, he, Joyce, and Bob decided to go out to eat as a celebration. They sat down and were thinking up conversation starters when a waiter arrived.

"Welcome to _Moody's Diner_. What can we get you?"

Joyce and Will hesitated—glancing at the menu.

"Hm, I take it you have never been here before."

Joyce answered first; "I'll have the Strawberry Rhubarb Pie with a small side of onion rings and some herbal tea."

Will added, "Can I have a blueberry pancake, sausage link, and sunny-side-up All-Day Breakfast Special?"

Joyce, Bob, and the waiter were all about to say, "Why, of course," at the same time, but as soon as they noticed each other's lips move, the couple left the answer to the server.

"Thanks."

"And I'll have the Large Tossed Salad with no dressing, some homemade cinnamon rolls, and a Vanilla Frappe," Bob said.

"Of course—Your dinner will be here shortly."

As soon as the waiter left, Bob pulled out a pen and started writing down something on a napkin; then Joyce asked Will if he planned on hanging out with any of the kids at his new school the following day. "I don't really have any plans this week, but maybe I'll go over and play some games with some of them next week. Not surprisingly, I'm most drawn to classmates and staff who remind me of my old friends. I can't help it."

"Hey, uh, speaking of games, you know how in _Legend_ , you can actually pick up right where you left off?", Bob asked.

"Yeah."

"Well, after work Tuesday I've been tinkering with a couple of old cartridges trying to fit in the RAM, so we can do that with all of them! Progress is being made fast."

"Wow. Sounds like I'll finally be able to beat _Kid Icarus_ then. Wait, you're not gonna use _my_ games are you?"

Bob jokingly put on his impression of his childhood nightmare Mr. Baldo the Clown saying, "Not unless you're _really_ naughty kiddo, heh heh." He immediately switched back to his normal voice, "Nah, I'm kidding; I'm not the Grinch, or the garbagemen in New Mexico."

They all grinned.

Joyce chimed in; "I just think it would be really cool if they could figure it out where you can have enough holes, so all four of us could play at once sooner rather than later: you guys, me, and John."

Will reassured his mother, "Well when I visited the arcade, I saw a couple of older kids playing, but I guess by themselves, it's one thing."

They were interrupted by the sound of another worker screaming and dropping everything he was holding. The Byers looked over and saw the horrified waiter dash beneath another table and "001" sitting at a booth, all by himself with a small pack of pet food, several bottles of water, a rag, and an occupied travel kennel he had turned back toward his table. He unassumingly spoke to it, "How unfortunate." He then noticed the family spying on him. "Oh."

"I see you have a pet," Will said.

"It was quite an effort, but I haven't met a single person who wasn't petrified by my new friend's soft, smiling face."

"Why, is she a snake or something?" Joyce asked, "And maybe we'll be the first."

"Thank you." He allowed them to come closer and have a look inside the kennel. Inside was a terrifyingly disfigured, but otherwise adorable orange tabby cat who looked as if she had just gotten out of a bath after not being fed or washed since it learned how to walk. It gave off a soft "Mew."

"Isn't she absolutely pwecious?" 001 invited.

"That face could take some getting used to, but everyone has their own arrange of things they consider cuddly, and all that really matters is that you're taking good care of it and showing it lots of love and affection," Bob answered.

Will inquired, "My friend Dustin used to have an orange tabby. What's her name?"

"Mews."


	3. Chapter 3: Soldier of Fortune

The kid stood there with a shovel, looking over a hole he had filled in the middle of the road. A construction worker yelled at him:

"Hey, kid! You can't go around vandalizing our projects like that! We're in the middle of setting up a street lamp! Where did your parents raise you: a barn?"

"0-01" looked at him and replied, "Just the opposite, and I was about to save your life."

"Did you think I was going to break my ankle or something like that?"

"Worse." He left, carrying the shovel left-handed behind his back.

"That kid is the craziest thing this side of the Lower Forty-eight."

* * *

"How?"

"I felt bad for her, yet another innocent victim of the bad place. I thought I might treat Mews to some fresh fish to keep her spirits up. Turns out she and I actually have a lot in common." He then started quietly humming the song "We're a Couple of Misfits."

Mews gave a soft meow.

"So, your gift is that…you can bring animals back from the dead like some sort of, oh, um, Frankenstein's monster?" Joyce asked.

Bob shuddered slightly about the idea of a cat zombie, but if Will had allegedly gone through a similar experience, he was willing to accept the same for a cute cat.

"I have seen that, and yes, but only if they came in direct contact with the bad place."

"I drove to my home one night, but when I arrived, I couldn't believe it: closed. Mother, Father, they had…left me. I roamed the town trying to find them, but they weren't anywhere; I would've felt them. You see, I can feel remnants of the bad place wherever they may be. With some help from Father, I eventually learned that I could manipulate them. That is my power. This was the feeling led me to this cat. I dug her up, and felt pity for the little girl, so I bought her a kennel and pet-bathing products to cover up the smell and took her to an abandoned, run-down abode. I brought her inside and thought of everything my gift could possibly do. Then, everything changed; it all came back to me; I remembered why they sent me away—the real reason—the reason that they…got rid of me…replaced me. Whenever I focused on this manipulation, I heave copiously—My mouth was so dry…" His tears came back, and he began to weep silently into his knees.

Joyce pleaded with him not to cry, saying that she and Will knew what it was like to feel abandoned by a parental figure turned neglectful. He looked up at them.

"Yes, but now you have a new father, a father sweet _and_ smart, just like my father was to me before," he said pointing to Newby and gesturing like he wanted a hug. "I will never that chance. I w sure no one would take me—told all my life that I was a weapon, a loved, yet nevertheless destructive weapon. It grew to be so bad that I collapsed completely. The first sound I heard afterward was her purring—I will never forget the sweetness in our bond. Then it reminded me of you, so I came back."

Will developed a thought, which he asked 0-01 about, "You said you could manipulate the remnants, right?"

"Correct."

"You wouldn't perhaps by any chance be able to remove them, do you?"

0-01 was shocked; "Are you proposing a full-on exorcism?"

"I just kind of wanted to ask you if you could get rid of our demons."

"My powers…to heal the mind? Is that even possible?" Mews meowed back at him. That smile gave him confidence.

"You're right, but first I need to visit the library, and up my stash of antiemetics."

A voice called: "Strawberry Rhubarb Pie, All-Day Breakfast, and Large-Tossed Salad for 'Byers'."

Joyce told him, "Oh, there's our order. Bye!"

0-01 waved silently.

The sounds of a serious car accident reverberated across the block. A man trapped inside screamed for help. 0-01 ran to the scene, opening the door.

"You're bleeding. Hold still." He opened his backpack with the shovel secured to it and applied some medicine and gauze inside.

"Young man, thank you for saving me" but just like that, he was gone.


End file.
